The Tiny People Hide When They Think I Can't See Them
by Vah Naboris
Summary: Life is not easy when your father-figure is one of the few remaining wizards in a kingdom once renown for its magic and your younger brother is literally an animal. Yet, it seems to be working out for Vaati; until the royal family decides to be sketchy and decrees the extermination of all things "not normal". [An AU that is pretty much AU]. [OoC].
1. Like Every Other Monday

**Prologue:**

Like Every Other Monday

/.../

The first beams of sunlight filter through every gap in the house, which isn't much, mind you. Just a simple, one room house. It creates a relaxing kind of komorebi effect that tempts me into falling back to sleep… if it weren't for the shuffling happening downstairs, signaling that, at least, someone is up. Wrapping the blanket around me, I peek down the loft. (We don't own beds, so it was as easy as to crawl a few inches to see what was going on).

As usual, Link is by the hearth. I can smell the savory aroma from whatever he is cooking from here. Something meaty. Spicy. The scent alone already dispels any cold I have been feeling. It's like he senses someone is observing him, because he turns around immediately. The smile he flashes, as Ezlo puts it, is like the first thaw in spring.

Speaking of the devil.

"Where's Master Ezlo?" I ask, throwing the blanket off me. No use keeping it if the old man is on the move.

Link eyes the door, then looks at me, as if thinking his words over.

"Gone out", he says with finality, although his frustration is visible on his face. I could tell he wanted to say so much more, but — and it embarrasses me to admit it— I have not been as diligent as I should've been, teaching him the nuances of speech. He hides his disappointment well, most of the time, and he's done an excellent job reaching this level of understanding for the mere eight months he's been a human being. But he should be speaking full sentences now, and writing, and reading, and …

"What's cooking?" I say, distracting from the fact that I suck as a person.

"Meat stew," Link pauses, "and round, purple plant with radish strips … uh, salad."

The word he's looking for is **armoranth**, instead I say, "yum."

He smiles, genuinely. "You want now?"

"Please," I all but run downstairs. We rarely do have the time to savor a proper meal.

We sit at the table, birdsong making us company, and for once since this journey started, I feel at ease. Happy.

But why do I ever expect something peaceful and quiet to happen around here. I mean, we _are_ living with Master Ezlo, the last Great Wizard of Hyrule. Which is why him barging into the house, looking as if he's been chased by a Lynel (not an unlikely possibility), should have been expected by now.

"Pack only what's necessary, boys. We're done here," the old wizard breathes out. He walks towards the chest on the opposite side of the room, places what looks like an ostrich egg covered in jewels in it and shoves the entire chest inside the travelling pouch tied on his hip.

"But we just got here!" I pout. Not that I'm proud of succumbing to my childishness, but do you know how long it took me to unpack?

Ezlo starts what is sure to be a long list of excuses when several voices are heard outside.

Link nimbly walks towards the window.

"Witches!" he gasps. His pointy ears lose some of their perk. Standing next to him, I see that he is correct. Some stay in the air, but an entire coven lands on the glade that is our front yard. Dismounting their brooms, their steps make a crunching sound as they walk over what is left of snow. Their tall, black, pointy hats, and black, billowing dresses seem menacing as they approach.

I round on Ezlo, who sighs in resignation. "You led them here?!"

"The house is warded," he replies, as if it was justification enough. "I planted armoranth around, in case we didn't make it out in time."

Link and I glance at our hearty breakfast, still steaming on the table. Why? I ask myself. Just, why?

The witches laugh haughtily outside, knocking on the door and walls, pressing their long, worty noses on the window as they peered inside.

Link gekkers, an unnerving high-pitched tone, and bares his teeth. Sharp throwing-knives materializes between his fingers in a blink of an eye. He takes a fighting stance, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. Even Ezlo, old as he is, appears a staff out of nothing. The glint in his eyes, and the prospect of battle, takes forty years off his semblance.

The house is rattling now as they continue to bang on the walls, the door, and the window. Their footsteps could be heard on the roof. I draw a sigil in the air with my pointer and middle fingers. The door latch moves, and then, slowly, the door opens a little. A witch stands there, smiling without warmth. Ugh, must she be a creep about this?!

Placing the fingers to my lips, I blow on them gently. Immediately, the house, the witches, and some of the nearby pine trees, are sliced through as I release a gust of magical wind.


	2. On to the Adventure!

**Chapter One:**

On to the Adventure!

(and a bit of Vaati's backstory)

/.../

I hurl the last body into the pile. Behind me, Ezlo chants some kind of prayer. We may be murderers in the eyes of some, but we are not heartless. These witches are, after all, the remaining husk of the brutally sacrificed women of their cult-like clan. When he finishes, he lights the pile with magical fire. It burns in less than a minute.

I turn my attention to the house. Or what's left of it, to be more precise. The house-cabin had been a rental and I can't stop myself from wincing at the thought of our lost deposit. It was by no means a modest amount, and with our line of work losing popularity in recent years, we would have to brace ourselves for an even tighter budget.

"House ugly anyway," Link grumbles somewhere near me, and I jump when I realize he's standing right next to me. A traveling pack is hanging from his shoulder, presumably filled with the rest of our things. "Where did you come from?!"

He points at the rubble. It makes sense.

To be honest, the house was indeed an eyesore, but it truly has been a while since we rested someplace decent.

I sigh, which catches Link's attention. He looks at me strangely, and I suppose it would seem foolish to get upset for something like this.

I once lived inside a shoe you know. Some Minish find shelter in trees; others carve their homes from mushrooms. The most domestic of us find themselves crevices inside Hylian buildings like houses, libraries, Hyrule Castle even. Me though, I chose the old leather shoe that was hidden among the undergrowth of the Lost Woods. Call it fate, there wasn't a particular reason why I felt drawn to the abandoned item other than it felt right. Although, it wasn't as abandoned as I first thought.

I had to fight a spider for it. My magic was different back then: less powerful, and nearly perceptible. I was the size of a baby rat, after all. There was no way any amount of significant power could dwell within me. However, despite the odds, I managed to dispose of the beast, and with a few fixes, I made myself at home. It was there that I spent a hundred years of my life, tending to my little corner of the forest and doing what we are most known for: helping Hylians in any way we can.

I glance back, only to see the old fool toying with the bejeweled egg, which had mysteriously started to glow halfway through our battle.

Ezlo hasn't changed much since we met. He's still the long-bearded, long-haired grouch that I found, shaking his fist at no one, in one of the woods' many dead ends. He had been lost for days, apparently, without any sleep or access to a bath.

And. He. Had. Been. Hangry.

Now, I don't know how it happened exactly. The more I stay Hylian, the less I remember from my Minish days, you see. I couldn't exactly take him to my house to rest, so I offered to find him a nice cave and edibles instead. He told me incredible stories about the world outside the woods as we went. About dragons and mysterious creatures that inhabited Hyrule's many mountains. Whether he realized it or not, he taught me the history of men, their struggles and victories. Before I knew it, I was captivated by their world and their power, and I found myself following him to every corner of this earth.

"That egg better be worth it, Master," I holler.

Ezlo gives it a final pinch before storing it back where it belonged, "I don't think it's an egg, although I admit, I've never seen anything quite like it. Of it's worth, well. We'll let the king be the judge of that."

I feel my mood lift with these words. Perhaps we don't have to worry about the money after all!

"What do you know, Link. Seems like we're heading to the castle!" I grin. An idea crosses my mind and I slyly lean towards him, poking his rib. "Who knows, maybe you'll even get to meet the princess you admire so much."

His eyes grow big with surprise and he hastily turned away before I can see the spread of a blush, paired with a coy smile.

I laugh at his silliness, clapping his back softly as we catch up to the old man. Every time Ezlo recounted his stories with the monarchy, Link has always been the most eager of the two of us in asking questions about the brave and beautiful Zelda.


	3. The King Only Sees You if You're VIP

**Chapter Two:**

The King Only Sees You if You're VIP

(and some of Link's backstory as well)

/.../

The strangest thing happened when we arrived at the castle's gates: we were asked to identify ourselves! In all my years traveling with the old man, not once had we been asked to do this when auditing with the king. I do well to not show discontent, but inside I was fuming. Do these people even know who they're talking with! The indignity of it all! Ezlo, of course, being the grouch that he is scoffs at the idea but doesn't fight them and rummages through the small traveling pouch on his hip to retrieve our paperwork.

It has been thirty minutes into his search so far and he has yet to find our passes.

The guards give each other looks every time he produces something other than the papers: cooking ingredients, moblin guts, and underwear, to name a few. One would think they would have regretted asking for our identifications by now and let us in, just to get on with it, but they are headstrong to the notion. Exasperated, — as I've told the old man, several times may I add, to sort his inventory to precisely avoid this kind of situations, — I decide to take a page out of Link's book and make myself scarce. Today's weather was actually nice, and the castle's grounds are quite the sight to behold even after the thousandth time of being visited. It would be a shame if I let them go unexplored.

With this thought in mind, I first make way towards the moat. According to Ezlo's stories, a moat is primarily built as a defense and a place where wastes are disposed of. They would often smell of sewage and not be particularly attractive because of this. Not Hyrule Castle though. The waters here are as crystalline as one might expect seeing from Lake Hylia. It is not man-made, which might explain its beauty, as it was originally a lake in which Hylians later built a fortress-island; a fortress that later became Hyrule Castle.

The mere concept makes my heart swell with excitement as I marvel at the towering (ivory colored) walls of the castle. Oh, what Hylians are capable of accomplishing! It was then that I happened to notice a figure at the foot of the wall, several feet away from me and certainly too far from Ezlo and the guarded entrance. Tiny and androgynous from the distance, I only managed to recognize this person as Link by the green, hooded capelet he's fond of wearing. Quietly, I went towards him. His ears twitched at the sound of my approaching, but he remained focused on whatever thing he was looking on the ground.

"What is it?" I asked, until I saw the hole; much too small for a child to fit through, but definitely too large to be from a mouse.

"I think… is burrow," he spoke.

"A burrow?" I prompted.

"Un, tunnel," he nodded, surer of himself this time.

I nod encouragingly. "Well, where do you think it goes?"

He blinks, as if the idea hadn't crossed his mind and was chiding himself for not thinking it sooner. He then looks at me with the bewilderment befitting of meeting a stranger for the first time.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" I smirk, amused by the situation. Me, straitlaced, no nonsense Vaati, apprentice mage extraordinaire, gasp, is not opposed to shenanigans? More likely than you think! I can't help but to throw him a wink as I mentally remove the spell that allows me to maintain my Hylian form. Link's face to seeing little old Picori me is priceless.

"But the Master…!" Link trails off, caught in between the alure of adventure and his subservient nature. (The old man has strict rules about our shape-shifting, but I've always regarded them as more or less suggestions).

I shrug, feigning indifference. In the end, this only lasts a minute, as he decidedly removes a charm from his wrist (a pretty, woven bracelet among the many he sports on both of his forearms) and his figure is enveloped in a soft, white light as it collapses on all fours. By the time the gentle light faded, and I was able to look, he was already in his fox form.

"Ooh!" I exclaimed despite myself. I had forgotten what he looked like before. Glossy red fur, as soft looking as down, covers his entire body. His ears are straight, black triangles on top of his head and his tail is long as it is fluffy. His eyes, which are the only foxlike features he keeps in Hylian form, are the same clever, golden-brown.

My heart accelerates with the instinctual warning of predator, and I remember that, had it not been for Ezlo, Link would have eaten me on that fateful day, when we first encountered him eight months ago. However, looking at the cute creature before me, I cannot help but to smile fondly despite the fight-or-flight response. I take a fistful of his fur and use it to climb on top of his back and over his head.

"C'mon," I quip, scratching behind his ear.

Link zips through the tunnel, no doubt happy to truly be himself for the first time since his forced transformation.


End file.
